Super Eagles Battles Sierra Leone As Campaign For 19th AFCON Kicks Off
The road to AFCON 2023 begins on Thursday, June 8, 2022, as the Super Eagles of Nigeria kickoff their campaign to qualify for a 19th appearance at the African Cup of Nations. Placed in group A, Nigeria will first battle Sierra Leone at the Moshood Abiola Stadium Abuja an empty stadium, due to the pitch invasion during the World Cup qualifying match against Ghana. The match will, however, air live on SuperSport Premier League (DStv channel 203) at 5 p.m. You can watch on the go with the MyDStv mobile app at no extra cost.
After crashing out of the 2021 African Cup of Nations despite an impressive group stage performance, the Super Eagles are eager to make their way back into the competition. However, to qualify for the tournament, they will also have to negotiate their way past Guinea-Bissau as well as Sao Tome and Principe in Group A.
The Super Eagles have lost their last two friendly matches, which were against Ecuador and Mexico, but the newly appointed head coach Jose Peseiro is hoping to improve on the team’s performance at the friendlies, with some key players who have been invited for the Sierra Leonean match.
Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa, though unable to make it to the United States friendlies is expected to be in the lineup alongside Balogun, Etebo, Chukwueze, Sanusi, Umar and Lookman, who were equally absent in the game. Other stars like Omeruo, Onyeka, and Osimhen, as well as Israel-based goalkeeper Adeleye, who were not invited to the friendlies in America have been called for the AFCON qualifiers.
Ahead of Thursday’s encounter, the Confederation of African Football appointed Ivorian officials to take charge of the game in Abuja, with Ibrahim Kalilou Traore as the centre referee. His compatriots Adou Desire N’goh, Nouhou Ouattara and Kouassi Francois Biro will serve as assistant referee 1, assistant referee 2 and fourth official respectively.
With Osimhen leading the Nigerian attack alongside Samuel Chukwueze, will the Super Eagles secure their first win in the AFCON qualifiers campaign?
Watch the fierce encounter live on DStv. Simply visit www.dstvafrica.com to renew your subscription. You can also catch the amazing actions on MyDStv mobile app at no extra cost.
